Technical debt doesn't accrue in a linear fashion. Instead, it's synergistic. Up to a certain point, it's a noticeable drag. Past that point, there is a change

Technical debt doesn't accrue in a linear fashion. Instead, it's synergistic. Up to a certain point, it's a noticeable drag. Past that point, there is a change in the difficulty incurred. In the article, the combination of some "you're-supposed-to-just-not-do-that" with: >If (the database throws an error) { do nothing } resulted in a major mishap.